Rotating jet well tool



United States Patent Raymond A. Malott Fullerton, Calif.

Dec. 10, 1968 Dec. 15, 1970 Shell Oil Company New York, N.Y.

a corporation of Delaware Inventor Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee ROTATING JET WELL TOOL 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl Int. Cl

Field of Search References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1918 Green E2lb 43/00 1,658,697 2/1928 Wiesman l66/223X 1,695,749 12/1928 l66/223X 1,766,487 6/1930 l66/223X 2,186,309 l/1940 l66/223X 2,997,108 8/1961 Sievers et al 166/222 Primary ExaminerStephen .l Novosad A!t0rneysThomas R. Lampe and J. H. McCarthy ABSTRACT: Apparatus for introducing fluent materials into a well borehole including conduit means providing a flow path for the materials being introduced into the well, a housing means rotatably mounted on said conduit means and defining an interior in communication with said flow path, and a plurality of jet nozzles fixedly positioned on said housing means, and providing a path of egress for said material from the interior of said housing means with at least one of said jet nozzles having a configuration whereby egress of said material serves to rotate the housing means.

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R. A. MALOTT HIS ATTORNEY ROTATING JET WELL TOOL Thepresent invention relates to apparatus for carrying out operations in wells. More particularly, the invention relates to improved apparatus for introducing fluent material, such as cement, acid, etc., into a well during workover,.drilling, or similar operations.

During the course of such operations it isnot unusual to force cement or other fluent materials into the area of a well borehole surrounding the well, casing through holes or perforations in selected zones of the casing. Perhaps the most common prior art approach for accomplishing this end has been the squeeze technique wherein certain zones of the well are squeezed of? and the cement or other material being applied is squeezed under high pressure 'throughthe casing per-' forations. Equipment for carrying outthis operation does not direct the slurry or fluid at high velocity, is often expensive and complex, and the operation itself is usually quite timeconsuming. The cement has a tendency to channel, leaving voids and poor cement bonding. In addition, alternativeapproaches and pieces of equipment must be utilized when carrying out the squeeze technique with respect to the different materials to be introduced, say cement and acid, for example.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for carrying out cementing and other operations in a well.

A further object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for use in introducing fluent materials into a well borehole which is inexpensive and simple in construction and is readily adapted for use in injecting a wide variety of materials into a well during workover or other operations. In an un cased hole the tool can be used to open or enlarge the hole by jetting.

These and-other objects have been attained in the present invention by providing apparatus lowerable into a well bore by means of a pipe string which includes a conduit means having operatively associated therewith a rotatable housing with a plurality of jet nozzles mounted thereon. The nozzles are disposed at right angles with respect tothe vertical axis of the conduit means and the axis of rotation of the housing so that fluent material injected. into the conduit means and housing will be forced at high velocity from the nozzles at right angles to said axes. At least one of said nozzles is canted at an angle at the free outer end thereof so that the ejected fluent material cooperates therewith to cause rotation of said housing and said jet nozzles. Using a bit or mill on bottom and by dividing the flow between the upper horizontal jets. and the lower bypass jets, the tool can be used to rotate through and clean out fill or bridges and to perform other operations such as milling or deflecting (with a bent" sub above the tool). This can be accomplished without the use of a rotary table, power swivel, or rotating the drill string.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The objects of this invention, as well as the purposes and characteristic features thereof, will be obvious from the accompanying drawing and from the following description of the invention. In describing the invention in detail, reference will be made to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout several views in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the apparatus of the present invention being lowered into position within a well casing;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal view in partial cross section illustrating the apparatus according to the present invention in operative engagement with a section of well casing within a borehole;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal view illustrating an alternative em bodiment of the apparatus according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, a well bore 11. is shown as having a well casing or liner 12 extending therein. The well casing 12 extends upwardly to a platform 13 mountedupon the ground and supporting a conventional derrick 14. It is to be understood that at least during the installation thereof, well casing 12 is at least partially supported by platform 13 as by means of slips, etc. (not shown) in the conventional manner. Supported from derrick 14 by means of a traveling block 15 is a string of pipe 16 which extends into the casing 12 and has an outer diameter substantially smaller than the inner diameter of said casing.

Positioned adjacent to platform 13 is' a supply tank 17 having an outlet pipe 18 extending therefrom to the inlet of a high pressure pump 19. Supply tank 17 is utilized as a storage vessel for the fluent material, e.g., cementitious material or acid, to be injected into the well during operations. Proceeding from the outlet of high pressure pump 19 is a high pressure hose or flow line 190, with the interior thereof in communication with the interior of pipe string 16, such for example, as through a suitable connector 20 positioned at the upper end of pipe string 16 between the string and traveling block 15.

Disposed at the lowermost end of pipestring l6 and attached thereto as by means of screw threads is a conduit 21. As may be seen most clearly with reference to FIG. 2, conduit 21 has fixedly attached thereto and extending about the outer periphery thereof a pair of cup or packer members 22 and 23 which may be of any known construction. Members 22 and 23 are of such adimension as to be in slidable contact with the inner wall of casing 12, thereby sealing the annulus between conduit 21 and the casing. Members 22 and 23 thus serve to maintain conduit 21 in 'a centrally disposed position within ,casing 12. Furthermore, such members also serve to wipe clean the inner wall of the'casing as they are moved in sliding contact therewith. For this reason it is preferred that members 22' and 23 be constructed at least partially of a yieldable material such as rubber. The operation of members 22 and 23 will be brought out in greater detail below.

Rotatably mounted on the lowermost end of conduit 21 by means of a thrust bearing 24 of any suitable commercially available type is a housing member 25. As may be seen most clearly with reference to FIGS. 2 and- 3, discharge port means comprising a plurality of jet nozzles 26, 27,-28 and 29 are affixed to housing member 25 witheach of said nozzles defining a throughbore in communication with the interior 30 of the housing member, said interior 30 being in turn in communication with the throughbore defined by conduit 21. As is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 3, two of the nozzles, i.e., nozzles 26 and 28, are of substantially straight configuration while the two remaining nozzles, i.e., nozzles 27 and 29, are canted at an angle at the free outer ends thereof.

In operation, the fluent material to be injected into the well is pumped from supply tank 17 by high pressure pump 19 through high pressure hose or flow line 19a and thence into the interior of pipe string 16. The pumped fluent material then proceeds down pipe string 16 through conduit 21 and into the interior 30 of housing member 25. The fluent material under high pressure than passes through the throughbores of nozzles 26, 27, 28 and 29 and is ejected from said nozzles at a high rate of speed, which may be in the order of 400 feet per second, for example. The free ends of the nozzles are positioned as close as possible to the interior wall of casing 12 without actually engaging said wall.

Casing 12 over at least a portion of the length thereof has slots 35 formed therein which provide communication between the interior of the casing and the annulus formed by the wall of the well borehole 11 and the casing. As the fluent material is ejected from nozzles 26, 27 28 and 29, the housing member 25 as well as the nozzles themselves are caused to rotate due to the jet effect caused by the cooperation between the ejected fluent material and canted or bent nozzles 27 and 29. As the housing member and nozzle rotate, the nozzles align with certain of the slots and the fluent material being ejected from the nozzles passes through the slots into the annulus formed by the casing and the borehole wall. When the fluent material is a cementitious material in liquid form, for example, the result will be that the cementitious material passing through the slots will clean and establish a bond with the casing walls defining the slots as well as creating turbulence within the wellhore annulus to assist in establishing a bond between the casing and borehole'wall. it is to be understood, of course, that during the cementing or other fluent material injection operation, the derrick arrangement will be utilized to position pipe string 16 as desired within casing or liner 12. By gradually lowering the pipe string during operations any excess cementitious or other fluent material adhering to the inner wall of casing 12 will be scraped therefrom by members 22 and 23 whereupon such material will drop to the bottom of the borehole.

Housing member 25 may. have formed within the bottom wall thereof a valve housing 41 which accommodates therein a ball valve 42. Apertures 43 and 44 are formed within the housing member bottom wall to provide communication between valve housing 41 and housing member interior 30 and the interior of casing 12, respectively. Valve 42 (FIG. 2) provides a full opening bypass so the string can be run in the hole with bypass in open position to wash out any bridges and to provide unrestricted circulation for conditioning fluid in the well; prior to jetting operation, the ball can be dropped to 'close the bypass. However, it should be pointed out that a valve of this type is not necessary for the proper operation of the apparatus according to the present invention.

ln H6. 4 is illustrated an alternativeho'using member-jet nozzle configuration which may be utilized in carrying out the teachings of the present invention. in this arrangement canted nozzle 27a and straight nozzle 28a are spaced axially along housing member 25a. This configuration is particularly useful when relatively thick or viscous materials are being injected into the well, since the fact that the materialis being ejected at two levels will lessen any tendency for the materials to clog within the casing operations. As is also illustrated in H6. 4, a bit or mill 50 may be affixed to the bottom of the housing member. By dividing the flow of material between the nozzles 27a and 28a, this arrangement may be used to rotate through and clean out fill or bridges and to perform other operations such as milling or deflecting. This can be accomplished without the use of a rotary table, power swivel, or rotation of the drill string.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for introducing fluent materials into a well, said well being provided with perforated casing means, said apparatus comprising:

conduit means extendible into said well and defining a flow path for the materials being introduced into said well; housing means rotatably mounted on said conduit means and'defining an interior in communication with said conduit means flow path; discharge port means from said housing means comprising a plurality of jet nozzles fixedly positioned on said housing means and disposed at right angles to the axis of rotation of said housing means, whereby said fluent materials may be discharged at right angles to said axis of rotation and comprising at least one jet nozzle fixed positioned on said housing means and canted at an angle at the free outer end thereof so that fluent material passing through said canted nozzle cooperates therewith to cause rotation of said housing means and said nozzle means; and means for positioning said apparatus in a centrally disposed position within said perforated casing means so that said nozzle means are free to rotate without contacting said casing means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said means for positioning said apparatus in a centrally disposed position within said perforated casing means comprises at least one cup member of substantially circular cross section having aradius such that said cup member-is in slidable contact with said casing said cup member being constructed at least partially of a yieldable material whereby said cup member may scrape the inner wall of said casing as said cup member is moved axially through said casing. 

